Analysis

Notes, Thoughts and Takeaways From Trail Blazers' Exit Interviews

First-year assessments from Scoot Henderson and Deandre Ayton, plus Malcolm Brogdon's future and more.

📍 TUALATIN, Ore. — Following the end of the 2023-24 regular season, the Trail Blazers conducted exit interviews and end-of-season media availability at their practice facility on Monday. General manager Joe Cronin, head coach Chauncey Billups and most of the players spoke to reporters about the Blazers’ 21-61 showing in their first season without Damian Lillard, their plans for the offseason and more.

“Individually, there were a lot of successes,” Cronin said. “Scoot Henderson's last 20 games, Deandre Ayton post-All-Star break, Shaedon Sharpe's first 20 games, Toumani Camara's entire season, Kris Murray's emergence late, Rayan Rupert shooting the ball better, Dalano Banton post-trade deadline. We're seeing a lot of good things happen throughout our roster. We just need to get that more frequent, more consistent and happening more often, from two-ways on down, get better. That's our challenge this offseason. We're going to continue to be aggressive and [opportunistic], looking for ways to improve this roster for the near future and the long term.”

The players who spoke largely echoed those sentiments. They were happy with their individual growth, less than thrilled with the losing and frustrated with the lack of health and continuity that plagued them all season.

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Henderson, Sharpe and Robert Williams III conducted their exit interviews last Friday following the Blazers’ final home game of the season due to scheduling conflicts this week. Ayton, Banton, Camara, Malcolm Brogdon, Matisse Thybulle, Anfernee Simons and Jabari Walker spoke on Monday. Jerami Grant was excused from exit interviews for personal reasons and did not meet with reporters.

Here’s a roundup of everything noteworthy that came out of these media sessions as the organization enters a crucial offseason leading into year two of the rebuild, including Brogdon’s future with the franchise, self-evaluation from Henderson and Ayton, some health updates and more.

Scoot Henderson ends on a high note

Henderson’s final stats for his highly anticipated rookie season: 14 points, 3.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 3.4 turnovers per game while shooting 38.5 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from three-point range.

Those numbers don’t exactly jump off the page for a No. 3 overall pick, and the lows were very rough. But the string of games Henderson put together to close out the season left everyone in the organization encouraged about where things are headed with the Blazers’ (hopeful) future franchise point guard.

“I think I grew the most as a leader, as a point guard, as a communicator on both sides of the floor and off the court as well,” Henderson said at his exit interview last week. “Just trying to bring guys together, whether it's me, or telling somebody to tell somebody this, I think I grew a lot there. My next-play mentality was [better] than what it was last year, and it wasn't as good as it's going to be next year, so I think that's going to continue to get better as well.”

Following the March 29 60-point loss in Miami in which Henderson recorded a plus-minus of -58, his final stretch of the season more than redeemed some of those rough patches. April was his best month of the year: 19.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 9.7 assists in 36.1 minutes per game over eight games, and—most surprisingly of all—he shot 41.7 percent from three-point range on six attempts per game. And his last game of the season, against Houston on Friday, might have been his best performance of the entire year. He finished with 30 points, five rebounds, seven assists, a steal, a block, hit six three-pointers and only had one turnover.

“I think in the last 10 or 15 games, he took a huge step,” Brogdon said. “We got to see him actually play some really high-level basketball on both ends of the floor. People I think were really hard on him the first half of the season. It's hard being a top pick. It's hard dealing with all those [expectations]. It's something I never had to experience. But we saw him step into his own, accept it all, embrace it and become a way better player than he was at the beginning of the season. He should be very satisfied. Still hungry, but happy with how he performed to finish the season and the strides he made. He made huge strides. We saw why he was the third pick.”

What was most encouraging about Henderson’s final stretch of the season was that he was able to string good games together as a starter. In the earlier part of the year, he was much more comfortable coming off the bench than he was starting, which contributed to his rocky, up-and-down season. In some ways, the early-season ankle injury gave the Blazers cover to start bringing him off the bench when he came back, after his first five games in the NBA went about as badly as they could have.

Henderson started to find his footing with the move to the bench, but then was forced back into the starting lineup because of injuries, and struggled again. After that, the pattern continued: he mostly played well when he came off the bench and mostly looked overmatched when he started—until the final two weeks of the season.

What impressed teammates the most about Henderson was the way he navigated that inconsistency in role and production.

“His mentality never changed,” Jabari Walker said. “His composure, him as a leader, his attitude off the court, his personality, that never changed. That's something you have to respect. Me and Scoot have had great conversations off the court. You can tell he's a serious guy. You can tell he's dedicated. You can tell he wants to win. Before we stepped on the court together, his whole intention was to win and bring that to the program. When your intentions are right, it's only a matter of time before somebody figures it out. I think it's only uphill for him with that mindset.”

“He doesn't shy away from being our point guard,” Dalano Banton added. “He doesn't care that he's a rookie. He talks. He's vocal. He makes sure he says the things he has to say even if it's not wanted to be heard. He's going to have a great career.”

Henderson insists he never got down on himself during the year, which I’m not sure I buy. The early part of the year was so rough that it would be impossible for anyone not to, especially with the expectations that come with being a top-3 pick and replacing someone like Lillard.

“There were never moments in this season where I was down on myself,” he said. “Especially with the support system I have around me. There's no way…it's impossible that I could doubt myself. The more you start to doubt yourself, the more I start to lose that O.D.D. mindset, being Overly Determined to Dominate. That's my mindset. That's how I have to go about every single day. As long as I have that, there's no way I could doubt myself or even try to [downplay] myself.”

I think a normal summer will be good for Henderson. He got to Portland last summer about a week before Lillard requested a trade, which cast a shadow over the organization for the whole summer. Then, he suffered a shoulder injury in the first half of his first Summer League game, which limited how much he was able to do during the offseason. Any teenage point guard’s rookie season is going to be rough, but those two factors can’t have helped matters. Now that both of them are in the past, he can prepare for year two.

Henderson’s exact summer plans are still up in the air, but he’s going to be in the gym.

“I'm going to get a little bit of rest, maybe a few weeks, just to get my mind and body back healthy,” he said. “But I'm going to be in a few places. I'm gonna play a lot of basketball. Wherever I am, it's gonna be a hoop. Whether you see me in China or Spain, there's gonna be a basketball court there. I'm working.”

Malcolm Brogdon’s uncertain future

When it comes to roster moves, Malcolm Brogdon’s name is the one to watch in the trade market, just like it was leading into February’s trade deadline.

The Blazers opted to keep the 31-year-old point guard around for a few reasons. The trade offers they received were largely centered around first-round picks in the 2024 draft, where they’re likely slated to have two lottery picks already and the talent class is considered underwhelming. They also loved his presence around a young team, particularly as a mentor for Henderson.

This summer, it makes much more sense to move on from Brogdon. He’s going into the final year of his contract, still has value to help a contender and it’s more important than ever for the organization to see how Henderson, Sharpe and Simons play together.

On Monday, Brogdon was asked what he thinks—and wants—his future to hold in Portland or elsewhere.

“I don't know what's going to happen,” he said. “It's completely up in the air. But I've definitely enjoyed my time here in Portland. It's an incredible fanbase, supported the team all year long, I built great relationships within the organization. That's really all I can say about that now.”

When Brogdon came over from Boston as part of the Jrue Holiday trade that immediately followed the Lillard trade with Milwaukee, many assumed he would quickly be rerouted to a contender. But the Blazers wanted to keep a couple of veterans around as they started the rebuild—the same reason they didn’t have much interest in trading Jerami Grant this year.

While they took calls on Brogdon ahead of the deadline, they were happy to keep him around as a mentor. And, by all indications, he was happy in that role.

“For me, this year was definitely more mental than physical,” Brogdon said. “Trying to make the adjustment of being the guy in the locker room that people look to for advice, guidance and structure. But I embraced it. I actually enjoyed the role. I thoroughly enjoy these young guys. I think they're smart, hard-working, high-character guys. I've enjoyed working with each and every one of them. I can't say enough about the guys we have on this team. As far as the locker room, this is as good as it gets as far as high-level people. I enjoyed the year.”

It’s unlikely that continues beyond this summer because of the Blazers’ roster situation and Brogdon’s contract status. But for this season, it was a beneficial partnership for both sides.

Anfernee Simons is tired of losing

This season was the first of Anfernee Simons’ career that didn’t begin with the intention of making the playoffs. The Blazers missed the postseason in each of the previous two years, Lillard’s last with the organization, but that wasn’t the plan going in.

Simons doesn’t like it very much.

“We don't want to have another season like this,” Simons said Monday. “For me, my sixth year is done now. Going into year seven. I want to have the opportunity to win. Losing is not fun at all. I want to have the opportunity to really show myself in the playoffs. It's one of those things that everybody wants to do, but for me, that's top priority.”

Simons’ role has shifted in nearly every one of those six seasons, from little-used rookie, to sixth man in the Lillard-C.J. McCollum years, to Lillard’s full-time backcourt running mate last season. This year, he had to balance playing off the ball alongside Henderson with getting more reps as the lead ballhandler than he’d ever had before.

It was an adjustment, and the torn thumb he suffered on opening night against the Clippers, causing him to miss six weeks, didn’t help things much.

“For me, this year was a learning experience,” he said. “It was my first opportunity to step into that type of role. Obviously, there's ups and downs. It's kind of a give or take based on how teams are guarding me. Maybe you want to be ultra-aggressive and beat the coverage. But a lot of sacrificing and giving myself up. Trying to make the 'right play' every time, but that might take away from what's seen as you being successful in that game. That's one of the steps that I took, showing the guys that I'm willing to sacrifice my own game for the team. That's one of the things that I wanted to show them early when I came back, that whether I have a good night or not, I'm always going to try to make the right play for the team to get better and learn how to actually win games.”

Simons’ future with the Blazers is going to be something to monitor over the next 12 months. Eventually, the organization will have to decide which two of him, Henderson and Sharpe they’re building around long-term. They don’t have to make that decision now. But a year from now, when Sharpe becomes eligible for a rookie extension and Simons is going into the final year of the four-year, $100 million contract he signed in the summer of 2022, they’ll need to figure it out.

That’s not to say they wouldn’t consider moving Simons now, if the opportunity was there to add a player that fit better with the rest of the rebuilding core. Health and consistency of role have been question marks at different points in his career, but he’s a proven scorer and shot creator who would undoubtedly be of interest to playoff teams like, say, Orlando, who are lacking in that department.

If Simons wants to win rather than go through another rebuilding season, he may welcome a change, too. But he likes Portland and the organization likes him, so neither side appears to be in a rush to move on. Right now, he’s making the best of a tough situation.

“I came in as a young player to a winning team,” he said. “You see a different perspective on how things are done and what every player does to be successful for the team. You try to implement that into what we're trying to do now. It's a long process for sure, but that's just something that you have to go through, especially when you have a roster turnaround and you have a lot of people in new positions. It definitely won't be easy, but I think it's something that can be done, for sure.”

Deandre Ayton: “This is truly who I am”

A couple days after Ayton was traded to the Blazers as part of the three-team deal that sent Lillard to Milwaukee, the team posted a video of his excitement at getting to the practice facility for the first time. A large part of that, undoubtedly, was how badly things had ended for him in Phoenix and how excited he was to be anywhere else.

Ayton’s first season in Portland was far from perfect. He missed time with injuries, had to miss a game in January because he was trapped at home in an ice storm, and was up-and-down early in the season as his new teammates tried to figure him out. But reflecting on his first year in Portland on Monday, it was all positive.

“My first season here went amazing,” Ayton said. “It was a great learning experience. I truly got to see what type of player I am. Just going through adversity. A new start. It was filled with a lot of excitement, a lot of adventure, a lot of obstacles, a lot of ups and downs. I learned a lot about who I am. I'm truly a leader, and I'm a survivor as well when it comes to a lot of trials and tribulations. I still pushed through. This season, I learned how to play with a lot of young guys and learned how to be a true vet and be transparent when it comes to their play. Just be a true example of how to approach the game and keep my professionalism to a par. Knowing personnel with these young guys. Knowing who to yell with, who to wrap your arm around in moments of battle, and really dialing in why my coaching staff and having them trust in me and believe in me. It was a smooth season. I'm happy I finished it off strong.”

When Ayton was the No. 1 overall pick in 2018, he came to a Suns team that was still mired in a decade of irrelevance. Following a trade for Chris Paul in 2020, they became a title contender, making a run to the Finals in 2021. Ayton anchored that team’s defense and took a lesser offensive role, especially after the Suns traded for Kevin Durant to pair with Devin Booker at last year’s trade deadline. Between contract talks that didn’t go as he hoped in 2022 and a deteriorating relationship with head coach Monty Williams, both sides were ready to move on.

Ayton came to Portland as one of the “veterans,” even though he’s still only 25. It was an adjustment, but he enjoyed it.

“The tables turn quickly,” he said. “I'm just happy that the last team I was with, being around great players and guys that have been in the league, I didn't take any of that for granted. I brought some of that with me. It made it easier dealing with younger guys. Having the patience and understanding that the program is bigger than you. I'm just a little piece of the puzzle when it comes to dialing in with these younger dudes and growing with them. I had fun doing it, too, and earning their respect. You can call them rooks all you want, and young guys, but these dudes are truly students of the game and they're competitors as well. They respect hard work. They know bullcrap when they see it. You just have to walk in and me on the same mission as they are, and the chemistry grows from there.”

In the second half of the year, when Henderson and Simons returned from injuries, Ayton began to build chemistry with them.

“People say D.A. had a rough start, but he was just figuring it out, and we had a lot of moving pieces and a lot of guys coming in and out of the rotation,” Simons said. “Once everything kind of settled down and me and him started playing more together consistently, that's when we figured out our timing on pick-and-rolls and stuff like that. You could really see him getting his confidence up and his rhythm. Credit to the coaching staff for putting us in that position, and me and him communicating about how we want to play together as a tandem. It's been good. It always works out perfectly when I'm getting blitzed and I hit the pocket, and it just so happens D.A.'s favorite spot is right there. That worked out perfectly and it was a good way for us to figure that out.”

“I feel like I've done enough to where I've communicated off the court with my guards, knowing why type of players they are, what type of person they are,” Ayton added. “It's made it very easy on the court just dialing in with them and knowing defensive coverages, how they want me to set screens, whether they want me to roll or want me to pop or things like that. With so many guards on this team with such great talent is really fun to understand that who you have to screen for is a fun thing to know and it's a great chemistry to have. I think I've gotten enough games with everybody to really know the personnel. I watch film of my guys all the time, and I'm sure they watch film on me. But I pretty much know how all of them play, and it's pretty easy and fun out there.”

The organization seems happy with where Ayton ended the year.

“He's made such steps this year,” Cronin said. “We all know that Deandre is extremely talented, but it was really encouraging to see how he navigated this season. He started with us right when training camp started, so he didn't get time to acclimate. As you saw early on, it was a little shaky. I wouldn't even say it's his fault. It was us learning how to utilize him, and his teammates learning how to play with him in the right spots, and him adjusting to the system. By the time of January and February, D.A. was a different player.”

The post-All-Star version of Ayton was what the Blazers hoped they’d get when they acquired him as part of the Lillard deal. During that stretch, he averaged 22.7 points and 12.5 rebounds per game while shooting 58.3 percent from the field.

“What I showed you guys the second half of the season is what I've been trying to show my whole career,” he said. “I've been dealing with little injuries and weird things about my body and things off the court, but settling in and dialing in and getting my feet under me, you truly see what type of player I am. The type of consistent player I am as well, and the leadership I bring to this team. This is truly who I am. I won't short myself. The numbers you see each game, that's something I'll be keeping for myself as a standard. It won't be a surprise.”

Chauncey Billups still has the locker room

The biggest piece of news that came out of exit interviews was Cronin confirming that Billups will be back next season for his fourth year as the Blazers’ head coach.

Billups is a polarizing figure among the fanbase. In the locker room, though, there are not split opinions on him. The respect and buy-in from players is universal. A sampling:

“I credit Chauncey for helping me change the trajectory of my career,” Simons said. “All the players respect Chauncey for all the things he's done as a player and all the things he has to deal with as a coach. Once you have that much roster turnaround and that many trades happen, you're trying to implement a culture here and a lot of things are changing roster-wise, that's hard to do as a coach.”

“I thought he was incredible,” Brogdon said. “I know people give him a lot of heat, which I think they do in any high-level, high-stakes organization. The coach is going to get a lot of heat. But with the injuries we had and the amount of young talent we had and the development we had going on, I thought he did everything he could. This would be a tough job for any coach that takes it. This is a young team with not a lot of any experience. I thought he did a great job.”

“I feel like he did a great job with it,” Jabari Walker said. “When guys got injured and young guys came out, he changed his vocabulary and made things easier to understand. He understood that us younger guys are still trying to figure out the pressure of trying to replace certain guys. He instills a lot of confidence in players. He's a fun coach. He's a player's coach. I think he did a great job in that aspect.”

“We had a unique roster where we had a guy [Grant] who's played 10 seasons, and we have multiple guys who can't even buy alcohol,” Thybulle said. “And being able to explain something in a way that everybody across that spectrum can grasp it and apply it, it just speaks to his ability to do that. Because it's not easy. It's really easy to talk big-picture, high-level things, especially for him because he's done it and lived it. But the real challenge comes in being able to explain the simple stuff, and in my experience, he's done one of the best jobs of doing that.”

“Each player that's come in, he's impacted them,” Simons added. “Whether it was off the court, on the court, he's been able to reach different players no matter how much time they were on the team or how much time they were injured. That's one of the things I respect about him most is that he's able to still pivot and do what he has to do for the betterment of the team. He's made everybody buy in every year to what we're trying to do. Whether it's successful or not, whether we had a good time or not, whether we're winning or not, we've been able to buy into what he's been preaching. Even still to this day, everybody believes in him. All the players believe in him, we understand the situation, and his desire to win is just as much as ours. That's what I would say about Chaunce.”

Health updates

A consistent theme of exit interviews was frustration with the Blazers’ lack of health. Matisse Thybulle shared a theory that Simons had as to why they had such bad luck on that front.

“I was just talking to Ant about this like, ‘It's only Portland that gets injuries,’” he said. “He said, 'it's because there's no sun.' Obviously, coming from Florida, of course he thinks that. 'There's no sun, that's why we all get hurt.'"

The Blazers’ five most important players—Henderson, Simons, Sharpe, Grant and Ayton—only appeared in four games together this season, and Portland as a whole was the second-most injured team of the season behind Memphis.

They ended the year with several key players sidelined. Here are as many updates on them as we got during exit interviews:

Thybulle missed the end of the season with an ankle injury, which he said is getting better. He’s planning to play for Australia at the Summer Olympics in Paris and expects to be ready to start training camp with the national team in June.
Shaedon Sharpe underwent core muscle surgery in February that cost him the rest of the season. Speaking at the end of the season, he said he’s cleared to do some contact and was close to returning at the end of the season but wasn’t fully there. Two weeks before the end of the season, the Blazers had him go through a practice with the Remix and were hoping to ramp him up to be able to play before the end of the season, but he ultimately didn’t get there in time.
Brogdon played his last game of the season on Feb. 2 in Denver, missing the final 10 weeks of the year with elbow tendinitis that required PRP injections. “I'm not 100 percent, but I'm definitely getting there,” he said Monday. “I'm taking huge strides. I've been on the court working out, shooting, not doing everything but doing almost everything. I'm feeling really good.”
Toumani Camara suffered rib and kidney injuries that cost him the very end of the season. Right now, he’s still managing the pain but expects to be recovered well before the start of training camp in the fall. “It's hard, especially because one of my goals was to be able to play all 82 games,” he said. “I missed three games before my injury, but I was just trying to play as much as I can because I love the game so much and I knew I was going to have more opportunity towards the end of the year. Life works in mysterious ways, so everything happens for a reason. I'm just grateful that I'm in the NBA and I know my injury's not too bad. I know I'll be able to be back next year.”
Robert Williams III, who underwent season-ending knee surgery in November, is doing some light jogging and on-court work and is hoping to be cleared for contact this summer. You can read more of his comments below: